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The Virginia Tech Hokies received another blow on the injury front Tuesday when Kyle Fuller had surgery to repair a torn core muscle (presumably in his groin, where he sustained an injury during the lead-up to the Duke game), effectively ending his season and Tech career.
Kyle Fuller underwent successful surgery to repair a core muscle injury on Tuesday in Philadelphia; full recovery in 4-6 weeks.
— VT Football (@VT_Football) November 21, 2013
Depending on what bowl the Hokies play in, there is at least a possibility that he will be back in time, but that would be cutting it close for sure and is not counting time it would take to get back in game shape. Additionally, without the elder Fuller manning his spot on the Hokie defense, the prognosis of landing a better bowl game is severely decreased.
Fuller, who had started 34 consecutive games for the Hokies (40 in all) at the time of his injury, missed his first start in over two years against Duke, being relegated to special teams duty. He officially started against Miami, but played little and missed two games against Maryland and Boston College. The Hokies are 0-3 in games that he did not start, and according to this stat from our friend Pete on Twitter, this might have something to do with that:
Yards per play by opposing offenses in games with Kyle Fuller: 3.97. Without: 5.07.
— Pete B. (@VTstatPsycho) November 21, 2013
Fuller was a semifinalist for both the Thorpe and Bednarik Awards, given annually to the best defensive back and defensive player, respectively, in the country. He was a 2011 Second-Team All-ACC selection, and a 2012 Honorable Mention All-ACC performer. He has tallied 24 tackles to date, 2 for a loss, with 2 interceptions, 10 pass break ups, 12 passes defensed, a forced fumble and a blocked kick.
For all your Virginia Tech football news, updates and analysis, including updates on Kyle Fuller's status and other injured players, Gobbler Country will continue to bring you the very best in Virginia Tech sports.